The Best Kind of Love
by iloveromance
Summary: A disastrous evening leads to something wonderful.


She climbed out of the car, prepared to say something to the man who sat in the driver's seat, but she barely had a chance to close the door before the car sped away. At least he'd had the decency to drive her home. Ironically arriving home was the only bright spot of an otherwise disastrous day.

The date was doomed from the start and she found herself cursing her psychic powers that she didn't realize what a disaster the evening would be in advance. It would have saved her those awful moments of her life that she would never get back.

She was hesitant to go out with Dale, because he simply wasn't her type. But when he'd asked her to go to dinner and a movie, she accepted without question. She was admittedly lonely and hadn't been on a date in months. Besides, Dale was rather mysterious and if she really thought about it, even a bit handsome. What harm would it do to spend an evening with him?

Quite a lot as it turned out.

They'd barely made it through dinner after a disagreement over which restaurant to choose, when a bigger, more significant argument began. She couldn't remember how it had started or even what it was about, but she knew that she'd never forget the other details; The fact that the argument had lasted the entire length of dinner and caused a few heads to turn at their raised voices and angry expressions.

And when the check came, she feared that Dale would make her pay for her own meal. She wasn't prepared to pay for anything, since she barely had enough to pay for essentials to begin with. But fortunately Dale paid without complaining, although she could see the reluctance on his face as he signed the check receipt.

When he was ready to leave, he simply rose from his chair and headed for the door, not even bothering to wait for her, as she hurried to catch up with him. She wouldn't have been surprised if he had driven himself home, leaving her stranded at the restaurant. But to his credit, he was there waiting for her when she reached the car and even waited for her to catch her breath. But by that point, she was so upset that she told him to forgo the movie and simply take her home instead. She couldn't spend another moment with such a horrible man.

Later as she stood in front of the Elliott Bay Towers, she wanted so badly to cry, but to her dismay, the tears would not come. She was forced instead to stare into space, alone with her thoughts.

After a few moments of taking deep breaths, she feigned confidence and walked into the lobby. She was determined to stay strong, even though inside she was crumbling. She refused to let anyone, especially Martin, Frasier and Niles, see how broken she'd become.

She considered taking a taxi to take her to Roz's house, but then she cursed silently, remembering that Roz was in Wisconsin visiting her family. So much for girlfriend therapy.

Taking one more deep breath, she pushed open the elevator door and rode to the nineteenth floor. As soon as the doors opened, she crossed the hall to another door, the one that led to her place of solace; home.

It took some effort to unlock the door, and her hand trembled as she opened it. She had hoped to find the place empty, but just as she feared, Frasier, Martin and Niles were sitting in the living room. Their heads turned at once when they saw her, as though they'd been waiting for her to return. It was a lovely gesture that warmed her heart, but she wished, oh how she wished, that she'd never mentioned her date.

Feigning a smile, she walked into the living room and put her purse away and then closed the door behind her.

"Hello…"

The men rose from their seats and went to her.

"Hello Daphne."

"Hey Daphne."

"Welcome home."

"Hello." She said again.

And then the inevitable happened.

"How was your big date?"

Martin's question was meant in kindness and was quite harmless but the moment she locked eyes with Frasier and then looked at Niles, her resolve crumbled. At once she began to fall and she felt light-headed. Before she realized what was happening, she felt them holding onto her. They didn't let go, even when she feared that she would collapse onto the floor. Slowly they guided her to the sofa where they surrounded her, doing their best to provide comfort.

"Oh Daphne, I'm so sorry that it didn't work out." Frasier said.

"It was horrible." She sobbed. "The worst night ever! I don't know what I was thinking."

"Daphne-."

She cried even harder. "Why doesn't anyone love me? What's so wrong with me? Am I that terrible?"

The men protested at once.

"Daphne of course you're loved!"

"You're not terrible."

"That's impossible."

"All I wanted was for someone to love me, but now…"

As she sobbed into Frasier's shoulder, she didn't hear him speaking softly to his father and brother, nor did she notice when he carefully rose from the sofa. But instead of feeling the void of his absence, someone else was holding onto her while she cried. His hand moved slowly up and down her back and her shoulders and his cologne was just heavenly.

"Here Daphne, drink this."

She looked up to see Frasier smiling at her, holding something in his hand.

"Yeah, and here's something to eat." Martin said.

It took her a moment to realize that they'd placed a bottle of Frasier's expensive water and a plate of crackers and cheese on the coffee table. That could only mean one thing. She looked to her left, and her heart warmed when she realized that the person sitting beside her was Niles.

"Dr. Crane…"

The worry on his face prompted her to take his hand.

"Are you going to be okay, Daphne?"

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "I will now. Thank you, so much, Dr. Crane. And you too, Dr. Crane, Mr. Crane. I love you all more than you know." She rose to her feet to hug and kiss each man.

"We love you too, Daphne." Frasier said. "You know, it may not be the romantic love you crave, but love is a powerful emotion."

"Frasier's right." Niles said. "A-And when the time is right, I know you'll find someone who loves you, the way you deserve to be loved."

Frasier put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "That was wonderful, Niles."

"It's also true." Martin said. "That other guy…"

"Dad-."

"Oh, all right." Martin said. "I won't say anything more unless Daphne wants to talk about it."

"I will…. Soon." She promised. "Thank you for the water. And for the cheese and crackers."

"Daphne, this isn't right." Niles said.

"You're right, Niles." Frasier said. "Daphne you don't have to feel obligated to talk about your evening at all. Just know that we're here for you, always."

"Well, actually Frasier, that's not what I meant." Niles said.

Daphne's eyebrows rose. "I don't understand."

"You deserve more than cheese and crackers. Even if they are gourmet."

"Niles has a point. You do deserve more than cheese and crackers, Daphne. Much more." Frasier admitted. "Why don't we all go to that new Italian restaurant that

Daphne's been so excited about?"

She gasped in delight. "Really?"

"Sure, why not?" Martin said. "I've been meaning to try that place myself!"

"We should have done this a lot sooner." Frasier said. "It's been a long time since we've gone out to dinner as a family."

"You are my family, aren't you?" Daphne said, brushing away tears as she hugged each man once more. "I love you all so much. I know I said it before, but-."

"It's nice to hear it again." Frasier said. "Now, come on, let's go."

The evening may have been disastrous, but she never expected it to end with so much love.

 ** _THE END_**


End file.
